Rotatable game board



p 1949. B. M. PETERSON 2,481,779

ROTATABLE GAME BOARD Filed Sept. 4, 1947 Patented Sept. 13, 1949 2,481,778 .ROTATABLE, GAME"BOARU BernhartMePeterson, Minneapolis'iMin Application september 4, 1947,'S'rial ;No. 7723133;

:present invention fire'latfisz'itQ -.:games ;:of the typeewh 8138111"; :a r: pluralitmrofs game, pieces other; wise known as men, are movedzf'fromronerportiom of a boardrtoa different portion thereof, as in the game of checkers or the like.

An importantiiobject:l-ofimy-invention is the provision of a. game. having a .pair .ofv spaced game boards anda connecting bridge elementIover which game pieces may be moved from one board to the otherialdngsarpredetermined -path.

Another highly importantobject of my invention is th'eprovision of a gameas set forth wherein,.tI-'1e ,spaced game boards have-pathsrthereon, some of which" are extended to fornrentrance and exitllwaysand'adapted to be valigned with-paths of Ithle connecting bridge elem'ent..

still anotherimportant'object of my inven tion is the provision of-a'gameas-set forth, in which..;the game board has: paths, some of whiohr arezextendedvto form a plurality -ofentrance=and exit, ways, and in'which the game boards; mayibe simultaneously rotated to align any one of the entrance and exit ways with the paths on the bridge element.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of means for checking the rotation of the game board when any one of the entrance and exit ways are in alignment with the bridge element.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, in which like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of my improved game with some parts being broken away and some parts shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of my invention shown, the numeral I indicates, in its entirety, a frame comprising a box-like base 2 and bearing brackets 3 and 4. A top plate of the base 2 is provided with a laterally-spaced pair of openings 6, each of which overlies one of the brackets 3 and 4. The brackets 3 and 4 are secured within the base 2 by means of screws or the like 1.

A pair of vertically-extending shafts 8 and 9 are journalled in the bracket 3 and 4, respectively, and project upwardly through the openings 5 in the top plate 5. At their opposite ends, the shafts 8 and 9 are equipped with rigidly mounted flanges l0 and II, respectively. The flanges l0 and II are disposed upon their respective shafts preferably of equal diameter-andhave their'top surfaces 'on th'e same horizontal levelf The di ameter of the discs IZ an'd" l3 and the-lateral? spacing thereefis such that a bridge element Hi If may be- 'interposed 'tldeizebetweem- The bridge element l 4 iis' -rigi'dly -mounted *to---thetop plate-5: and is provided witli spaeed para'lleksides and concaveends Whih cl'osely correspond to th'e cunvatu-re of the a-djacent di-scs l Zfiand l The top surface of the bridge element is on a'com mon'srleveliwithitlieniscs' l 2 and l 3, and sufficient clearance is maintained between the-conoave ends ofi-zthesbrirlge elementi and' the disos so that tl ie discssmayrzrotatezfreelyzwith respect to-itfie bridge element l4.

A pair of bevel gears I5 is mounte'd fa'st one eachrzormtheeshaftsxi! Eand QEWithiH WhB bHSP/Q, an'deai q. connected-ilfoni simultaneous :rotation bye having meshing engagement, one each with one of a pair of bevel pinions l6 fast on the opposite ends of a laterally-extended shaft H. The shaft I1 is journalled adjacent its end in the brackets 3 and 4. It will be seen, particularly by reference to Fig. 2, that rotation of one of the discs I2 or I3 will be transmitted through the gears l5, pinions I6, and shaft IT, to the other thereof. By means of this arrangement, rotation of one of the discs l2 or l3 will cause rotation of the other thereof in a reverse direction.

I provide means for checking rotation of the discs l2 and I3 at predetermined positions, in the nature of a cam l8 secured to the shaft 9 by means of a set screw or the like [9. The cam I8 is provided with a plurality of relatively flat surfaces 20 which are adapted to be frictionally engaged by the free end of a leaf spring 2|. Spring 2| is fastened to and held in cam-engaging position by a mounting block 22, secured to the base 2.

The game boards or discs 12 and 13 are each laid out to provide a plurality of intersecting paths over which game pieces are adapted to be moved. The game pieces, not shown, may be of several types such as pegs or marbles adapted to be moved in paths made up of holes or concavities in the game boards; but preferably and as shown, I provide paths imprinted on the flat upper surfaces of the discs I 2 and I3 for the use of ordinary checker pieces or the like. The paths are indicated by the numeral 23 and intersect at substantially As shown, some of the paths terminate at the periphery of the discs l2 and I3 to form entrance and exit ways 24. The bridge element [4 is similarly laid out to provide a plurality of paths 25, which terminate at the opposite concaved ends thereof and form continuations of the paths 23 when the discs [2 and [3 are rotated to bring the entrance and exit ways 24 into alignment therewith.

The flat surfaces 20 of the cam 18 are so arranged, with respect" to the entrance and exit ways 24 on the discs 12 and I3 and the spring 2|, that one of said surfaces will be in face-to-face engagement with the spring 2| when any one of the entrance or exit ways 24 are aligned with,

the bridge element I4. Cam 1'8 and spring 2| thus function as a detent to assure alignment of the paths 24 and 25 in the discs and bridge element, respectively. It will be noted that, when an entrance way 24 on the disc I2 is aligned with the bridge element l4, a corresponding entrance way I 4 on the disc I3 is also brought into alignment with the bridge element I 4. 1

The end to be achieved in playing the game is to move all of the game pieces from one of the game boards 12 or I3 to the other thereof through the entrance and exit ways 24 and over the bridge element 14. During the game, diiferent ones of the ways 24 may be brought into alignment with the bridge element [4, so that many combinations of movement of the game pieces are thereby possible. Various methods of playing the game may be used, which it is thought need not be described, inasmuch as the instant invention is concerned only with the structure herein disclosed.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification without departure from the scope of the inven-,

tion.

What I claim is: v 1. In a device of the class described, a frame, a

pair of laterally-spaced disc-like game boards mounted in said frame on spaced axes for simultaneous rotation in a common plane, the upper surfaces of each of said discs being laid out to form a plurality of intersecting paths over which game pieces are adapted to be moved, some of said paths on each of said discs terminating adjacent the periphery of said discs to provide a plurality of circumferentially-spaced entrance and exit ways, a stationary bridge element interposed between said discs, said bridge element being laid out to provide a plurality of paths 7 which terminate at opposite edges thereof adpaths in said entrance ways are aligned with the jacent said discs, said paths forming continuations of the paths in said discs when aligned therewith, motion transfer mechanism mounted on said frame and connecting each of said discs for simultaneous rotary movement, and means for checking rotation of said discs when the paths of said bridge.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in further combination-with means for rotating said discs in opposite directions.

BERNHART M. PETERSON; REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date France V.' Oct. 12, 1931 g 

